Talk
by Qweb
Summary: Danny is captured and given truth serum to make him talk. His captors don't know what they're in for. Rated T for some swearing.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: __For my birthday, I'm giving you a present. Reviews would make a nice gift in return._

_I did a little research on "truth serums." Symptoms here are loosely based on sodium thiopental__, aka __sodium pentothal. But this truth serum is Dr. Tellen's own formulation, so I basically made up whatever I liked.  
>And, yes, this is a riff on "Truth or Consequences" from NCIS. If anyone can talk more than Tony, it's Danny.<em>

**Talk**

Danny Williams woke to the prick of a needle in his arm and a sharp ache in his neck. The last thing he remembered was a stabbing pain in his neck as he climbed out of his Camaro at home.

His sleeves were rolled up to bare his forearms and his tie, shoes and socks had been removed, otherwise he was dressed as he had been the night before.

There was an itch under his hair at the back of his neck, but he couldn't scratch it because his arms were strapped to a sturdy wooden chair that was bolted to the floor. Heavy leather straps were buckled at his wrists, elbows, chest, waist, thighs, knees and ankles. _It might be overkill,_ Danny thought, _but it was effective._ He bunched his fists and exerted all his strength, but couldn't budge a centimeter.

All he did was make his veins pop.

"Thank you," said a voice from behind him. A hand swooped down to insert an IV cannula into a plainly visible blood vessel.

Danny cursed. He strained to look behind him. Two men moved forward into his view. Danny recognized them both.

"I see you know us," said Dr. Erik Tellen, an elderly physician and chemist known as Dr. Truth. The former East German interrogator specialized in using truth serums while questioning subjects. His wide forehead and bony jaw gave him a skull-like appearance that was lessened by his beaky nose and his surprisingly kindly eyes.

With him was King Singleton, a dark-haired, square-jawed, scowling mob boss who had been the subject of a Five-0 investigation. Singleton had been suspected of using Dr. Truth to gain information and Five-0 had information that he wanted.

Five-0 had taken Singleton's accountant, Agnes Stoneman, into protective custody. She was ready to talk about Singleton's business in exchange for immunity.

Singleton wanted to find her and he thought Five-0 knew where to find her. So he'd kidnapped Danny and brought him to Dr. Truth.

While Tellen prepared an IV bag, Danny scanned his surroundings, futilely looking for a way out. He seemed to be in a small cabin, maybe a hunter's cabin, out in the backwoods. The small, one-room building had been set up like a primitive doctor's examination room. A neat array of equipment and medicines was laid out on a small table. A bright light focused down on the captive. A sturdy cot stood along one wall beneath a high window that showed a view of nothing but a couple of treetops. Danny couldn't see the door, so he figured it was behind him.

The detective squirmed, knowing it was useless.

"You cannot escape, so you might as well relax," Tellen said, as he hung the IV bag and connected the tubes to the cannula.

"What is it you want, Singleton?" Danny demanded.

"We want you to talk," Singleton said, as the doctor turned on the IV.

Liquid sunshine flooded Danny's veins. His head swam and he tasted garlic. It was suddenly too much effort to fight when he could relax and enjoy the warmth. Best of all, he couldn't feel that persistent itch anymore.

Dr. Tellen patted his shoulder. "There," he said kindly. "Feeling better now?"

"Yes." _Holy shit! Was that him answering like a dog taught to 'speak'? _Danny wondered, panic poking holes in the golden fog in his brain.

"Good. Now tell me your name," the doctor said politely.

"Detective Danny Williams," Danny answered obediently. _Dammit, Williams, you're going to get yourself killed if you can't control this. _

Steve had talked about truth serum one time, but, oddly, it was Kono's surfing lessons that came to Danny's mind. If you made a sudden move on a surfboard, if you tried to force things, you'd just fall off. But if you shifted your weight a tiny bit, you could control your direction.

"You're doing very well, detective," Tellen encouraged. "Now tell me where we can find Agnes Stoneman."

In his mind, Danny edged his foot to the left on the surfboard. "I won't tell you anything about Agnes Stoneman."

Success! It was the truth, but not the full truth. He "won't" tell because he "can't" tell. Five-0 had turned the witness over to the U.S. Marshals. Danny had no idea where she was, but if Singleton realized that, Danny was dead.

Danny had to keep that knowledge a secret, despite the truth serum.

"Now, Daniel, don't you want to tell me about Agnes," Dr. Truth coaxed.

"No." That, at least, was the unvarnished truth. Calling Danny "Daniel" wasn't helping Tellen's cause. Only Danny's mom and his ex-wife called him Daniel.

"It's not working," Singleton hissed angrily.

Tellen took him aside. He spoke in a low voice, but the cabin wasn't large enough for him to escape Danny's earshot.

"I will get him talking about harmless subjects. Then, when he is comfortable talking, I will reintroduce the subject of our investigation. Be patient. This may take some time."

Knowing Tellen's plan gave Danny armor against it. He decided to comply. It was a risky strategy. He might blurt out important information before he could stop himself, but he needed to stall until his friends found him.

He could feel the drug draining his will, the growing desire to tell the nice doctor what he wanted to hear; but Danny called on the essential core of stubbornness that had carried him through life when he was told too often: You're too young to play with us, too small to be on the team, too short to be a cop. The obstinate streak that let a Jersey detective keep up with a Super SEAL reared up and bared its teeth in a feral snarl. The fact that the interrogators saw only a goofy grin made no difference to the internal defiance.

If they wanted talk, Danny would give them talk. And boy would they be sorry.

"Tell me about yourself, Daniel. Are you a good detective?" Dr. Truth asked.

"Yes. I closed 84 homicide cases in New Jersey before coming here. Since I've been with Five-0, we've solved a few homicides and we've saved a lot of lives, which is even better than solving murders."

Danny began to chatter about some of the Five-0 cases, all information that had been well covered by the news media. No secrets here.

Dr. Truth interrupted the flow. "Do you like working with Commander McGarrett?"

_Thank you! _Danny thought. He could rant about Steve all day.

"Hated the guy when we first met. He stole my crime scene and hijacked me into being his partner, then wouldn't listen to a word I said. After I saved his life, he showed his gratitude by twisting my arm behind my back in some SEAL-ninja move. I had to slug his jaw for that," Danny said in satisfaction.

"So you don't like him?" Tellen was a little surprised. This did not fit with his intelligence.

"That was just the first day," Danny said. "We've gotten used to each other since then.

"He's no kind of cop. Geez, he breaks down doors with grenades! But he'll back up his friends without hesitation and he'll kill you if you hurt me." Danny laughed. "And that's the truth!" he taunted.

Tellen was disconcerted. This interrogation wasn't going as planned.

"Ah, what about the other members of Five-0?"

Danny chose to take that as a follow up to the last statement he made. "Kono's a good cop. She probably won't kill you if you hurt me. She'll just kick your butt," he said judiciously. "And Chin Ho's got a shotgun I'd like you to meet," he told Singleton.

"Your 'truth serum' is a bust!" Singleton growled to Tellen. The mobster pulled a pistol from his shoulder holster and cocked it.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I know, short chapters. But it broke better in three parts than two._


	2. Chapter 2

**Talk  
>Chapter 2<strong>

"Your 'truth serum' is a bust!" Singleton growled to Dr. Tellen. The mobster pulled a pistol from his shoulder holster and cocked it.

"I've been told truth serum doesn't make you tell the truth; it just makes you want to talk. I can talk. If you want talking, Danny Williams is your man. Anybody will tell you that," Danny said cheerfully, letting the harmless words flow. "Usually people tell me to shut up. My sisters, my teachers, my boss … Steve has offered to pay me to shut up. I could probably make a fortune …"

Singleton couldn't take the inane babble any more. "Shut up!" he roared.

"See?" Danny said to Tellen, who had to hide a smile.

Singleton raised his fist to hit Danny, but Tellen caught his wrist.

"No. Pain increases adrenalin and helps the subject throw off the effects of the drug. We just need to give him more time."

"And more truth serum," Singleton ordered.

Tellen pursed his lips doubtfully. He thought the intravenous drip was going at the proper speed.

Singleton shoved the doctor aside and turned up the flow. The taste of garlic made Danny think wistfully of New Jersey pizza. He sagged against his restraints, head spinning.

"That's too much!" Tellen protested.

Singleton backhanded the doctor's face. "Do as you're told," he growled.

"But an overdose will kill him," Dr. Truth protested. "Some of the components of the drug are the same as those used in lethal injections."

"Appropriate." Singleton gestured with his revolver. "If he doesn't talk, I'll kill him anyway. You, too."

"Kill me and you're signing your own death warrant," Danny said. His words were slurred, but his defiance remained. He knew now — and the knowledge gave him strength — that the drugs might kill him, but they wouldn't break him.

Despite his many successful interrogations, Tellen was losing confidence that this one would be productive. The psychological impact of the term "truth serum" had always played in his favor. People thought it would make them tell the truth, so they did. But Williams was armed against that belief. He'd apparently learned a few things from his Navy SEAL commander, who had been trained to resist interrogation.

"Please, Daniel," Tellen pleaded. "You must tell us about Agnes Stoneman."

"Won't. Won't, won't, won't," Danny chanted. "We can talk about something else. My daughter is 47 years old," the 35-year-old detective said happily. Recalling a story Grace had made up for school, he went on, "She raises lavender flying horses for a living but assembles nuclear weapons in her spare time just for fun."

Danny giggled at the outraged expression on Singleton's face.

"Daniel, it is time for the truth," Tellen said sternly.

"I'm not lyin' when I say, I'm not gonna talk," Danny sang.

"Give him more!" Singleton ordered.

Tellen tried to reason with his enraged client.

While they argued, Danny saw movement through the small window. A man in camouflage pants and a dark T-shirt climbed into view in the tree and settled himself with a sniper rifle. The partners' eyes met and Steve McGarrett smiled with relief.

One good thing about being drugged, Danny thought, there was no way he could tense up and give the game away.

Singleton continued to argue about upping Danny's dose.

"He's lying to you!"

"I know that!" Tellen snapped.

"Don't fight over me, guys," Danny pleaded with mockery in his voice. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. My friends know where you are," he said smugly.

"Liar!" Singleton roared in fury, pointing his gun at the prisoner.

Danny giggled giddily. "Truth serum, remember?" He nodded at Singleton's chest where the red spot of a laser sight glowed evilly.

Insanely, Singleton tried to twist away from the red dot. A bullet shattered the window and hit the mobster in the arm. His gun spun away and he fell, cursing.

Danny smiled sunnily. "Don't move, Doc," he warned.

"No, I will not move," Tellen agreed, raising his empty hands as the red dot tracked his way.

The door crashed in. Kel-Tec raised, Kono Kalakaua sprang to her right. Chin Ho Kelly followed moving left, his shotgun at the ready. SWAT officers crowded the doorway behind them.

"Hi guys, miss me?" Danny asked brightly.

"You know it, brah," Chin answered. Some of the tension went out of his shoulders when he saw his friend apparently unharmed, but he kept his shotgun aimed even as he continued, "It's been too quiet around the office."

"Funny, it's been all talk around here," Danny answered.

Kono secured Singleton, then left a SWAT officer to watch him and — not too gently — treat his wound. The Five-0 officer then handcuffed the submissive Tellen, leaving a second officer with him, while she knelt before Danny.

"I won," Danny reminded her.

"You did," Kono agreed. "How do you feel, brah?" she asked, as she gently removed the IVs from his arm, tying off the bags to prevent the evidence from escaping.

"Floaty," Danny answered. He frowned, wondering if that was a word. Now that he didn't have to guard his every thought, Danny was beginning to feel relaxed and drowsy. "Buoyant," he added, finally finding the word he wanted.

"You can't be too far gone if you can find long words like that," Steve said from the doorway. The commander was covered with leaves and bark and dirt from his scramble down the tree to see if his partner was all right. The relief in his eyes was evident.

"You're a mess," Danny said with a goofy grin. "Good to see you anyway."

"You're high," Steve said in amusement.

"As a kite," Danny agreed cheerfully.

Steve sighed, as he and Kono began to unstrap their friend from the chair. "I wish you had some deep, dark secret that I could question you about right now."

But the ex-Navy SEAL was the one with secrets, not the New Jersey detective.

"Danny's life. Open book. Same difference," Danny answered, his sentences unusually short. The air seemed to be getting thinner, or maybe he was just exhausted.

When the straps were released, he slumped against Steve. The commander helped his friend over to the cot.

"You OK?"

"Tired. Long day," Danny said, his eyes drifting closed.

Steve patted his shoulder. "You rest. We'll take care of Singleton and Tellen.

While his friends impatiently waited for the paramedics to arrive to take care of Singleton, Danny began to die.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And just when you thought he was rescued, too._


	3. Chapter 3

**Talk  
><strong>**Chapter 3**

While his friends impatiently waited for the paramedics to arrive to take care of Singleton, Danny Williams began to die.

His breathing grew more and more shallow. He might have passed into the ultimate stillness unnoticed, but when Danny Williams was still, his friends noticed. Chin glanced at his Jersey friend and couldn't see his chest move.

"Steve, he's not breathing!" Chin said sharply.

Kono beat their boss to their friend's side and put her ear to Danny's chest. The faintest wisp of air touched her hair. "No, he is, but just barely," she said. She shook his shoulder and called his name, but Danny didn't respond.

"He's had too much of the truth serum," Tellen said clinically. "It depresses the autonomic systems."

"Where are the paramedics?" Steve demanded.

Chin already had his phone out, checking with EMS. "They were diverted. School bus accident," he said grimly. "Another ambulance is on the way, 10 minutes out."

The Five-0 trio exchanged glances. Did Danny even have 10 minutes?

"Release me," Tellen said calmly. "I have an antidote."

Steve hesitated to put Danny back in the interrogator's hands.

"Come, commander. It is surely in my best interest to save his life. I have never killed anyone and I do not wish to start now, especially not with Detective Williams."

It's true that everyone Tellen was suspected of drugging had been found confused and amnesic, but alive. The doctor conveniently ignored that the information he obtained was used by others to commit murder. Self-deception was another kind of lie.

"There is little time," Tellen prodded.

Steve unfastened Tellen's cuffs. The man instantly went to the table and began loading a syringe with a pale yellow fluid.

Still on the floor, Singleton began to laugh, mocking the cops. Steve pounced, savagely ripping the bandage off Singleton's shoulder and out of the startled SWAT officer's hands. Singleton yelled as the pad tore away the scab that had begun to form. Steve shoved the bloody bandage into the mobster's open mouth and used the free ends of the gauze to tie the gag in place.

Steve jabbed a finger in Singleton's face. "Danny dies. You die," the commander snarled. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with that."

"No sir," the SWAT officer agreed, and forcefully applied a new pad to Singleton's wound. The mobster writhed at the painful pressure.

Singleton kicked and thrashed, then froze as a shotgun muzzle hovered so close to his face he had to cross his eyes to see it.

"Hold. Still," Chin said fiercely. "Make one more sound and you will be nothing but a mess for crime scene cleanup to handle."

"Here." As Steve returned to Danny's side, Tellen handed the commander a small oxygen tank. "Help him sit up, please. It will help his breathing."

Steve sat on the cot and took his friend in his arms, supporting the limp body in a reclining position. The commander fastened the oxygen mask over Danny's mouth, glad to see the slight clouding of his friend's breath on the inside of the mask. First it was a faint mist, but soon the entire mask was fogging up.

Checking Danny's pulse, Tellen nodded. "Yes, he is responding."

Kono sighed with relief. "What did you mean when you said you didn't want to kill anyone, 'especially' not Danny?" she asked the doctor.

"He impressed me," the doctor answered, without taking his eyes off Danny. "I've never had a patient lie to me. They evade, twist, dodge. I think of it as a car chase, with me in pursuit of the truth. But Detective Williams slammed on the brakes, looked me in the eye and lied. And laughed while he did it.

"I don't know why he was able to do that. Perhaps he had an individual reaction to the drug. Perhaps his confidence in your impending arrival gave him the strength to fight. I don't know, but I found it most impressive. Most impressive. Um, may I ask a question? What did Detective Williams mean when he told you, 'I won'?"

"We had a bet, which of us you would kidnap, which of us would be the soft target," Kono answered.

"Ah, well, your cousin stuck too closely to you for us to consider either of you," the doctor said.

Kono gave Chin a dirty look. He just shrugged.

"I suppose you never considered Steve," Kono said drily.

Tellen looked at the Navy SEAL, who looked ferocious even while nursing a sick friend. The doctor shuddered. "No. Never."

"You couldn't have known I was coming!" Singleton protested angrily around a mouthful of soggy bandages.

"You repeated the same MO too often, Singleton," Chin said with scorn. "We set a trap to catch you and Tellen, putting ourselves up as bait. When Danny didn't check in on schedule, we knew he'd been the one taken."

"But how did you find us?" Tellen asked.

"I think Danny's waking up," Steve interrupted.

* * *

><p>Danny felt as if he'd just closed his eyes for a moment, but he opened them on an entirely different perspective. He was sitting propped up, wearing an oxygen mask, facing Tellen with Steve's arms cradling him as if he was a sick child. His head felt stuffed with cotton balls, but he didn't feel giddy or giggly anymore.<p>

Danny cleared his throat and in a voice that sounded surprisingly normal asked, "What just happened here?"

He felt Steve's shuddering sigh of relief. Then the commander answered in a strained voice, "We almost lost you, partner."

"Really?" But Danny could see by the expressions on Chin and Kono's faces that Steve was not joking.

"It was an overdose, brah," Chin said, as he crouched in front of the detective. "You almost slipped away without us noticing."

"Fortunately, we always notice when you get quiet," Kono joked, tears in her eyes.

Danny processed the information. "Well, if I ever get a choice, I'll take that over convulsions," he said judiciously.

"You will remember, yes, that my antidote saved him?" Tellen asked.

"After your truth serum almost killed him," Kono said angrily.

"It was Singleton who turned up the drip. Tellen tried to stop him," Danny said.

"We'll remember," Steve promised. "And when the paramedics get here, you're going to the hospital, Danny. No arguing."

"Do you hear me arguing?" Danny asked. "That was insidiously scary. Anyway …" He scratched the small lump under his hair at the back of his neck. "…this tracking device itches like crazy. The doc can take it out while I'm there."

His words made them all aware of the tracking chips embedded under their skin.

Kono scratched the back of her head, too. "Very good idea," she agreed.

* * *

><p>The paramedics treated Singleton's wound and pronounced it just a hole through the fleshy part of his upper arm. They took Danny in the ambulance, but left Singleton with the cops.<p>

Steve hauled him up by the scruff of the neck. "Come on, you're due for an interrogation of your own," the commander growled.

Singleton had chewed through his improvised gag. "You should have killed me!" he raved, as Steve dragged him away.

"We don't want to kill you," the SEAL said with an evil grin. "We want you to talk!"

**The End**


End file.
